ABSTRACT
This chapter deconstructs the apology along with the adjacent treaty and accompanying discourse. In doing so, it interprets particular narratives conveyed by the apology and situates such enunciations within the dynamics of Italian politics and foreign affairs, especially in regards to bilateral relations with Libya. In regards to the immigration component of the treaty, the chapter situates rhetoric on the issue within elite political discourse that draws on dual notions of ethnicity and threat. This chapter locates the apology within the parameters of the conventional perceptions of Italian colonialism as articulated since the inception of the First Republic. Through a deconstruction of the apology and accompanying political discourse, it is suggested that Berlusconi's mea culpa sits with recent forays of introspection, yet ultimately recasts sentiments that are reminiscent of the conventional colonial narrative. The chapter contents that Berlusconi's Grande Gesto to Libya has a multiplicity of meanings that serve to advance particular politically expedient narratives.
